General Cycling Discussion - Do Bicyclists "Get It"??

went on a bike club group ride today. Since the start was five miles from my house, I decided to ride my bike over (seemed logical).

1. On the way over, I was cut off by motorists five times, including one who gave me the finger and cursed at me for being ahead of him in a left turn lane at a red light. ALL five of them were members of the bike club on their way to the ride (confirmed -- I saw them at the start).

2. The riders were incredulous that I had ridden my bike all of five miles to get to the ride. The comments (all serious) were similar to those one hears from the average couch potato. For example, "Why would you want to do that?" "Isn't it a lot of work?" "Fanatic". "Idiot". All from people who were there to ride between 20 and 40 miles.

3. After the ride, there was a picnic at the home of a club member. The host specifically asked that we leave our cars at the ride start and ride to his house (8/10ths of a mile) because of limited parking in his neighborhood. Almost every last person took their car to the picnic, and then spent much of the picnic complaining about the difficulty in parking. A number of them wound up parking in a No Parking zone on a busy street, and a bunch used a nearby church parking lot despite signs asking people not to. At least 3 people wound up skipping the picnic because they couldn't find close enough parking spaces.

What am I missing??

You should get in touch with Jeff Foxworthy. He's got a sign you can give to people like that. ;)

I have goten the same comments when I ride to a starting point. I usually just give some smart a$$ remark back. Only time I did not was when I road 30mi to the start... actually, I did then also ;)

:beer:

....What am I missing??
Sounds like they're the ones missing something.
1) Courtsey and patience
2) Ambition
3) Common sense

You should get in touch with Jeff Foxworthy. He's got a sign you can give to people like that.

you mean Bill Engvall.

back to the topic: are you sure they were cyclists? i mean really sure? and maybe they can't read.

Sounds like a very self centered group of people. Not the type that would be fun to hang out with.

Bunch of whiners. I'd ride fast just to rid myself of them. I bet the guy hosting at his house got pretty irritated as well.

these people need shunning. if they're that f'in stupid... man... they have to have emotional problems.. bad bad emotional problems...

they ***** at you for riding on the road and then they all go riding on the road... O_o


MERTON IS CONFUSED!!!!

Those guys sound like tools. I would ride alone if all the roadies in my town were all conceited idiots like that. Oh no wait, I already do. ;)

No you are not missing anything. They are just bunch of idiots, that lack common sense and manners.

Why are you riding with people like that?

The last two days I have ridden my mtnbike to the tails( 10 miles to Pisgah Ntl For. and 5 to DuPont St For.) and have gotten buzzed by people hauling their bikes. I get the same reaction. Someone ask where did you park ,I say I rode from home and they can't believe it.Heck my son whos 12 did the Pisgah ride with me on sat. 30 miles total.I thought riding was the point!

Weekend warriors.

The riders were incredulous that I had ridden my bike all of five miles to get to the ride.

What area of the country is this? I routinely ride with a club here in the Boston area; there's usually a half-dozen or so people who ride to the start of every ride. Different people naturally depending on where the ride starts from, but I'm actually shocked on those occassions when nobody rides to the start.

That is REALLY weird. I've never even been on a group ride, but I would never have thoguht of such a thing.

Hey leave me alone I had no idea that was a no parking zone.!

Just kidding. :D

yeah i would drop that club or just not ride with that group. Bad karma from them will pull you down.

I can't say i'm buddies with everyone on my weekly group ride, but at least when someone rides to the start people are always saying "why didn't you tell me you were riding and we could have rode together?"

i'm sure this group has it's benefits even if they are few. I would weigh the pros and cons though if this is how it is on a weekly basis.

1. On the way over, I was cut off by motorists five times, including one who gave me the finger and cursed at me for being ahead of him in a left turn lane at a red light. ALL five of them were members of the bike club on their way to the ride (confirmed -- I saw them at the start).

Hard to believe.

I believe it, it's the "bikes are toys" mentaility.

Just bask in your intellectual advantage for understanding that bikes are vehicles, not toys. Then pity those fools that just can't get it.

This is like no cyclists I ever met...The whole club can't be like this..I have never met a cyclists who does not find ways to add extra miles to a ride...Most obvious way. Ride to the start line.

I think these must be the same people at my gym who take the elevator up to the third floor to get to the cardio equipment.

:rolleyes:

I think these must be the same people at my gym who take the elevator up to the third floor to get to the cardio equipment.

:rolleyes:

Ha, is this the 24 Hour Fitness off of Sunset?

Yeah, the guys you rode with are totally conceited, self-absorbed idiots. Someone needs to put a banana in their tailpipes -- don't know if it really works (like in Beverly Hills Cop), but their cars either stall or won't start ;)

Strange group of riders. Doesn't sound typical to me. The vast majority of folks who show up to our club rides ride their bikes to the ride.

Ha, is this the 24 Hour Fitness off of Sunset?

Yeah, the guys you rode with are totally conceited, self-absorbed idiots. Someone needs to put a banana in their tailpipes -- don't know if it really works (like in Beverly Hills Cop), but their cars either stall or won't start ;)

It works.

Bunch of whiners. I'd ride fast just to rid myself of them. I bet the guy hosting at his house got pretty irritated as well.

That, and lazy whelps too. :cry:

It's just their way of telling you to find a new club.

You'll thank them, in the end......................

Well, I've been riding with 4 clubs, and never ran into any of the issues you ran into. It's normal to ride to the start of the ride ... I typically will ride to the ride start if it's less than 10 miles. The club you were with is not normal. I agree with just about everyone else ... you should look for a different club, or just try riding with friends, or just not with that club.

This is so weird to so many of us...Could be they were in a bad mood;and like doing a 'freshman hazing' kind of thing.?

Now I remember why I ride solo. :)

Sounds like this club is a bunch of d**chebags. It's time to find some new friends...

We all think of ourselves as clever people with the proper priorities. (who are also good-looking, witty, and popular, but I digress) Since cycling is such a big part of our identities, I think we tend to—optimistically—ascribe the same qualities to other cyclists, and it's a bit of a shock to see that the cycling community is comprised of the same ratio of dough-heads, jerks, and mutts that comprise the rest of society.

That being said, my feeling is that ALL of the respondents to this thread are clever, good-looking, witty, popular people.

I have never heard of such a thing. I ride to the start of just about any group ride within 10 miles of home. Most cyclist I know do the same. They only drive if they are pressed for time or to far away. And I can't think of the last time I was buzzed by a cyclist driving his car. I always get passed with a wide berth and usually a little toot of the horn and a wave.

You must be stuck with some real losers...

You know all those people that drive with their heads up their arse all week?

They do club rides on weekends

Interesting. I have often wondered whether or not personality and behavior were based solely on the mode of transportation in use as is so often intimated in these forums. Or, perhaps jerks are just jerks and nice folks just nice.

Someone needs to put a banana in their tailpipes -- don't know if it really works (like in Beverly Hills Cop), but their cars either stall or won't start ;)


A potato works better, drive it in firmly with a stick.

Sounds like the world's worst bike club.

Why the hell would you want to ride with a bunch of losers like you're describing?

Wow. That's bizarre. It sounds less like a cycling club and more like a motoring club that had a bike day.

you should have confronted them when you got to the starting line. I would have been livid :D

I'll try out a local club this week and see how it works out. Worst that can happen is if the people are jerks or don't want to ride with me because of my fat legs :(. But I'll ride alone so it wont matter much in the end :)

\Offtopic/, I got motorist cheering me on when I ride with my new jersey :D. I had people pull up next to me and start chanting, "go go go, you can do it"

Id ride solo or find another club if I was in your situation, there is no excuse for being completely stupid

Bad drivers make bad bikers

I know I am not missing anything....they are idiots, and inconsiderate idiots at that.